Court: French law on digital versions of out-of-print books flouts EU directive

A French law that allows royalty collectors to authorise the publication of digital versions of out-of-print books is not compatible with the EU copyright directive, Europe’s top court has ruled.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled that authors must be informed about any plans to release their out-of-print books in this way so that they can object if they wish, and that the French law does not require this.